Line cover dispensing device



April 21, 1959 w. COTE I 2,882,661

LINE COVER DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Dec. 3, 1956 2 Shgets-Sheet 1 Inventdr WILFRIDZOTE E Attorney April 21 1959 w. COTE 2,882,661

LINE COVER DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Dec. 3, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor v WILFRID COTE Unite taes My invention relates to a line cover dispensing device, particularly adapted for applying a wrapper of paper or other like flexible protecting material to a clothes line.

Household laundering is carried out in almost all homes, as there are many articles which housewives prefer to launder themselves rather than entrust them to commercial laundries. It follows therefore that clothes lines hecome a necessity of such households.

Again many housewives prefer open air line drying, so that the clothes lines are located outside the house itself, usually in a yard or garden, and frequently on a roof or other exposed place. This placing of clothes lines outside, subjects the line to all types of variable weather, and if the home is located in an industrial area, then the clothes line is exposed to dirt and smoke laden atmospheres.

Usually clothes lines are of two distinct types, namely textile lines or a mixture of other fibres with textiles, or metallic lines. The textile lines readily become coated and ingrained with soot and grime, so that even when the line is wiped preparatory to hanging out washing, it is impossible to remove ingrained dirt, and at best the wiping of clothes lines is far from efiicient.

After some use, metallic lines readily become tarnished and coated with dirt, and if the line is of ferrous metal it not infrequently rusts, and no matter what amount of Wiping a housewife may give to the line, the cleaning of the line is unsatisfactory, and rust strains not only disfigure the washing but are extremely hard to remove and are very destructive.

Irrespective of the type of clothes line used, it is subject to the drawbacks referred to above.

Some housewives endeavour to overcome these difiiculties by folding small pieces of paper on the clothes line when hanging out the wash, such pieces of paper being located at the point where a clothes pin is to be used to secure the washed article to the clothes line, but this is a time consuming and tiresome procedure, and unsatisfactory since other parts of the washing come in contact with the clothes line which is not so protected.

When studying methods for protecting washing during outside line drying, I realized that the above disadvantages would have to be overcome, so that the following objects had to be attained to provide a satisfactory solution to the problem.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a device for applying a fresh clean wrapper to a clothes line immediately in advance of the washing being suspended from the line, so that the laundered articles overlie and engage only this fresh wrapper, and do not come in direct contact with the unprotected clothes line.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clothes line wrapping device which may be suspended on the clothes line, either on a single fixed line or on the lower reach of an endless line running around pulleys, the device being freely movable along the clothes line by the person hanging the washing on the line.

A further object of the invention is to provide a clothes line covering device having a hand grip member dependice ing from the lower side thereof, which hand grip serves also as a pendulum weight to maintain the device in vertical position with the roll of wrapping material resting directly on the upper periphery of the clothes line.

A further object of the invention is to provide a clothes line covering device for applying a strip of flexible wrapping material to the line on the movement of the device relatively to the line, the flexible strip of wrapping material being carried on a magazine in the form of a roll which rests on and has frictional engagement with the clothes line, and the strip of wrapping material is unwound by the relative longitudinal movement of the device with respect to the line.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a clothes line covering device removably applicable to a clothes line and movable therealong, having a line gripping means to securely retain the device at any place along the length of the line as and when desired by the user.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a line covering device which will automatically align a strip of wrapping material on the clothes line, so that on the relative movement of the wrapper dispensing device to the clothes line, the strip of wrapping material will straddle and longitudinally cover the length of clothes line over which the wrapper dispensing device has passed.

Another object of the invention is to retrieve, if desired, the strip of wrapping material when removing the dried clothes from the clothes line, by simply reversing the direction of travel of the dispensing device on the clothes line.

A further object still is to eliminate looping of the wrapping material during the operation of applying the wrapping material to a clothes line.

Another object is to dispense only the amount of wrapping material necessary to cover that part of the clothes line over which the device has passed, and to eliminate slippage during the process of wrapping the clothes line with the wrapping material.

Still another object is to provide a line covering device of the nature and for the purposes set forth, characterized by structural simplicity, durability, efficiency and readily capable of manufacture and sale at reasonable cost, thereby rendering the device commercially desirable.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an embodiment of my invention as seen when mounted on a clothes line.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same as seen from the left side of Figure 1, part of the device being broken away.

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the device as seen from the right hand side of Figure 1, part of the device being broken away.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of part of the dispensing device showing the means for aligning the wrapping strip relatively to the folding mechanism which is designed to fold the strip of wrapping material longitudinally so that it will straddle a clothes line.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of that part of the mechanism shown in Figure 4 with the folding and aligning mechanism open.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the aligning and folding mechanism in open position and just prior to closing the folding cover.

Like characters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures. 7

Referring to the drawings, A represents my line wrapping dispensing device comprising an inverted U-shaped frame 10 having side arms of unequal length, the longer arm 11 having its lower end offset or bent inwardly at right angles as shown at 12, and from this ofiset end a hand grip 13 depends. The frame is consequently sub stantially rectangular in shape.

Rotatably mounted in the frame is a magazine or clothes line wrapper dispenser consisting of a disc 14 of suitable material which is rotatably supported on the bolt 15 extending through the side arms of the frame and transversely across the frame. On this disc 14 a roll in strip form, of wrapping material 16 is mounted, this roll being of paper, nylon or other flexible material suitable for covering a clothes line B. When it is necessary to remove the magazine, as for instance to renew the roll of wrapping material on the disc 14, then a butterfly nut on the bolt 15 is loosened and the bolt withdrawn to permit the disc 14 being removed from the frame 10 and allow a fresh roll of wrapping material being placed on the disc.

Extending rearwardly from the frame 10 are a pair of spaced parallel links 17, each having one end pivotally attached to a side arm or wall of the frame 10 by the pins 18, the other end of these links being pivotally attached by the pins 19 to the aligning and folding mechanism C, by means of which the strip 16 of wrapping material is aligned with, and folded to overlie and straddle the upper periphery of the clothes line B.

The pins 19 pass through lugs 20 which depend from the sides of a folding plate 21, the forward end 22 of which resembles the half of a horizontally disposed hollow truncated cone so that the front end of this plate may be referred to as semi-conical. The rear portion of the plate 21 adjacent the dispensing disc 14 is formed as a flat plate 23 having upwardly disposed side flanges 24 which are designed to engage the lateral edges of the wrapping strip 16 to feed the strip in proper alignment to the folding mechanism and thence to the clothes line B.

Pivotally attached to the plate 21 by the hinge 26 is a complementary folding plate 27 the forward end of which is semi-conical in shape and similar to the corresponding portion of the plate 21, and this complementary folding plate 27 overlies and is slightly spaced from the folding plate 21, so forming a shallow transversely curved channel through which the strip 16 of wrapping material passes as the wrapping material is being applied to the clothes line B.

The rear end of this complementary folding plate 27 is formed of a flat plate 28 which co-acts with the flat flanged plate 23 to form a shallow rectangular channel through which the strip of wrapping material 16 passes before being delivered to the shallow transversely curved channel between the semi-conical plates 21 and 27 of the folding mechanism C.

The complementary semi-conical folding plate 27 is held in operative engagement with the semi-conical folding plate 21 by means of an arcuate locking member 29 which is hinged at 30 to that edge of the complementary plate 27 opposite to the hinge 26.

Extending forwardly from and rigidly secured to the frame 10 on the face remote from the aligning and folding mechanism C is a clothes line gripping member D which is formed with two arms 31 and of resilient material, and the lower ends of these arms are rigidly attached to the side walls or arms of the frame 10.

The resilient arms 31 are offset intermediate of their length and converge towards each other, after which they diverge to form a loop 32 at their upper end as shown in Figure 2, and the arms 31 thus form a resilient clamp on the clothes line B in a manner to be described later.

The line gripping member D is arcuate in side view, as seen in Figure l and is spaced from the roll of wrapping material 16 on the disc 14, and the converging portion of he arms 1 f rm an n erted v h p d guide with wh ch th othe l n B e gages,

Wh n my line w apping ev e A i in use, he clothes line B passes longitudinally and centrally through the folding device C, so that the clothes line B is directly below and in contact with the wrapper aligning plate 23.

The clothes line B passes between the converging resilient arms 31, and in this position my dispensing and wrapping device A hangs vertically suspended from the clothes line B as shown by'the full lines in Figure 1. The outer periphery of the roll of wrapping material 16 frictionally engages the clothes line B so that inadvertent movement of the roll of wrapping material cannot take place, and the only way in which the strip of wrapping material can be unwound is by the positive forward translatory movement of the device A on the line B by the user when hanging out washing.

The arcuate locking member 29 is now rotated into unlocking position and the semi-conical complementary folding plate 27 is swung open on the hinge 26, so permitting the end of the strip of wrapping material 16 being placed on the flanged aligning plate 23 and then over the semi-conical portion of the folding plate 21 whereupon the complementary semi-conical plate 27 is rotated about its hinge into closed position and the arcuate locking member 29 is then rotated on its hinge 30 into frictional engagement with the complementary folding plate 27, and the flat plate 28 co-acts with the flange plate 23 to close the rectangular channel which aligns the strip of wrapping material 16 with the folding mechanism and also with the clothes line B.

To hang out the washed clothes for open air drying, the wrapping device A is partially moved longitudinally 0n the line B, and the end of the strip of wrapping material is held on the clothes line. During the longitudinal movement of the wrapping device A, the disc 14 and the roll of wrapping material 16 thereon is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, so unwinding the strip of wrapping material 16 which passes through the aligning channel and between the folding plate, and the strip of folding material straddles and rests on the clothes line B.

The user of the clothes line then places an article of wash on the wrapped or wrapper-covered clothes line and secures it thereon by a clothes pin. The device A is then manually moved longitudinally along the clothes line B until the article is to be again fastened to the clothes line by a second clothes pin, and since the folded wrapper is in engagement with the whole of that portion of the line B between the clothes pins, then the article hanging over and from the clothes line B is thoroughly protected against contact with the clothes line itself.

This step is repeated as each article of wash is being hung on the clothes line.

When the hanging out process is completed, the user of the wrapping device A simply swings the device downwardly and forwardly to cause that part of the clothes line B which is located in the inverted i-shaped guide of the gripping member D, to be engaged between the arms converging into the loop 32 which embrace the line. The clothes line now engages the disc 14- and the roll of wrapping material 16 through a substantial arc of the circumference of the roll of the wrapping material, and so locks the device A in suspended position from the clothes line B.

In this position no translatory movement of the device A can take place since the roll of wrapping material 16 is in frictional contact with the clothes line B and uncoiling of the wrapping material cannot take place.

When the clothes have een dried and are to be removed from the line B, then the user simply disengages the line B from the loop 32 of the gripping member D by pressing the hand grip 13 in a clockwise direction and the line then slides downwardly into the position shown in Figure 1.

The user then removes the clothes pin adjacent to the device A and disengages the article of wash from the clothes line. If the cover strip is not in a tit condition to be used again, it may be torn off and discarded. When however the wrapper is still clean or composed of a washable material such as plastic, nylon or other material and intended for reuse and long life, it is retracted by manipulating the device A so that the disc 14 is moved in a clockwise direction to wind the strip of released wrapping material on to the disc, and this step is repeated as each article of wash is removed from the clothes line B.

Since the length of the strip of wrapping material being dispensed is directly governed by the rolling contact of the disc 14 and roll of wrapping material 16 with the clothes line B, it will be understood that the strip is always held taut, and there is no tension, or relatively little tension on the strip of material and looping of the strip is not possible.

The aligning and folding mechanism C lie in the same plane as the disc 14 and the roll of Wrapping material 16, so that there is no distortion of the strip of wrapping material at any time. Also the folding of the strip of wrapping material is gradual or progressive as it passes through the folding mechanism, and the strip of folded material can be retrieved by reversing the translatory movement of the device A on the clothes line B.

This gradual folding puts no severe sudden bending on the strip of wrapping material, and it also permits of the passing of the folding strip backward through the folding and aligning mechanism C when retrieving of the strip of wrapping material is desired.

The action of hanging clothes on the clothes line, and removing them therefrom is freely accomplished, and the work is rapidly and effectively performed with my Protecto line wrapper, and the articles of wash are at all times held out of direct contact with the clothes line on which they are suspended.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be manifest that a line cover dispensing device is provided that will fulfill all the necessary requirements of such a device, but as many changes could be made in the above description and many apparently widely different embodiments of the invention may be constructed within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or scope thereof, it is intended that all matters contained in the said accompanying specification and drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitative or restrictive sense.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A wrapping device adapted to be suspended from a clothes line and be manually moved longitudinally thereon, including a roll of line wrapping material therein having normal rolling engagement on the clothes line and adapted to roll along and deposit a strip of the wrapping material on the clothes line during the forward translatory movement of the said device on the clothes line.

2. A wrapping device adapted to be suspended from a clothes line and be manually moved longitudinally thereon, and having wrapper carrying means adapted to straddle the clothes line, a roll of line wrapping material rotat- 6 ably mounted in said means normally engaging said line and adapted to roll along and deposit a strip of wrapping material thereon, and means for aligning the strip of wrapping material delivered to the clothes line during the translatory movement of the said device on the clothes line.

3. A wrapping device adapted to be suspended from a clothes line and be manually moved longitudinally thereon, and provided with wrapper carrying means adapted to straddle the clothes line, a roll of line wrapping material therein having frictional engagement and rolling contact with the line to deliver a strip of Wrapping material thereon during the translatory movement of the device along the clothes line, and means carried by said manually moved device for folding the strip of wrapping material longitudinally before delivery to the clothes line.

4. The device claimed in claim 3 in which means are provided between the rotatable roll of line wrapping material in the wrapper carrying means and the folding means to align the strip of wrapping material from the carrying means through the folding means to the clothes line.

5. The device claimed in claim 4 in which the folding means consist of a pair of complementary truncated semiconical plates forming an arcuate channel through which the strip of wrapping material passes.

6. The device claimed in claim 1 in which a clothes line gripping member is provided adapted to co-act with the clothes line to hold the device in any desired position on the clothes line after movement over the line.

7. The device claimed in claim 6 in which the clothes line gripping member is resilient.

8. A device of the class described comprising a portable, manually actuated frame, means on the frame adapted to carry a replaceable roll of wrapping material, aligning and folding means for the wrapping material spaced from the frame, and means hingedly connecting the aligning and folding means to the frame.

9. A device of the class described comprising a frame, means on the frame adapted to carry a roll of wrapping material, wrapper aligning means, folding means to one end of the frame adjacent the aligning means, means connecting the folding means to the frame, a hand grip depending from the frame and a line gripping member secured to the frame at the opposite end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 482,153 Barrett Sept. 6, 1892 1,287,535 Washburn Dec. 10, 1918 1,654,871 Gage et a1 Jan. 3, 1928 2,006,375 Vogt July 2, 1935 2,688,829 Geifroy et al. Sept. 14, 1954 

